Now I know to most it’s probably a little crazy to start talking about Christmas, but let me explain. Last year I had every intention of making it a ‘handmade’ Christmas and then the day to day reality of having a then 6 month old and 2 1/4 year old kicked in and it never happened. I then had to go on a massive last-minute panic shop where I ending up spending way more than I could really afford but felt like I’d been wedged in to a corner. And so, this year I’m determined to make an extra special effort to make it at least a lot homemade (I don’t want to set the bar too high!) and if that’s going to happen I need to start now.

With money being a little tight I want to make as much as a possibly can with materials I already have to hand.

These cards are sooooo easy to do that you can have a few presents made in less than 15 minutes, perfect!

You will need: fabric scraps, cards (I picked mine up from The Works for 4.99 for 50), sewing machine, Old needle (I always save my old sewing machine needles so that can use them when sewing through card as it otherwise immediately blunts them)

Gather your fabric scraps and find combinations that you think look good together, position on the card and then carefully place them under the needle being careful to hold them in place. I like to sew randomly rather than keeping it neat but that’s totally up to you! (also, be careful not to sew through both layers of card).

I like to tie 5 cards together with some string/wool and wrap in tissue paper.

As of this weekend just gone we are a tv free house. It was a decision we have come too with much difficulty. We all love a bit of tv but lately I have been using it more and more as a bit of a crux to help get the dinner made or a bit of cleaning done. Consequently, we’ve had a few struggles in tearing certain family members away ( I shall name no names!) and it’s left me questioning my parenting choices (which are already far from the organic, attachmenty ideals I set out with) and so it’s gone.

For the time being at least we haven’t missed it but I know Winter will be so much harder so if I’ve started looking out for vintage games in the charity shops…today the gods were kind!

Note: this is in no way a judgement on anyone else’s choices…it’s just a personal decision in our own parenting journey. (Also, we have the laptop/ iPad to watch netflix in case of emergency’s!)

I actually did this awhile ago but had forgotten how much I love it and thought I’d share.

You can pick these patches/motifs really cheaply on ebay (or if you’re in Sheffield, there’s a really good haberdashery stall on the Tuesday and Fraday market on the Moor )

This one cost me £8 which isn’t cheap but for me was worth it as I’ve turned something I didn’t wear in to something I love!

The patches in the bottom picture i picked up for 74p from my local Oxfam.

This almost doesn’t need instructions as it is so easy but if you haven’t done anything like this before start by pinning your motif on to your garment and sew around the edges using straight stitch making sure it’s pretty secure. I haven’t tried to wash mine yet but as it’s pretty big I’ll probably stick to handwashing it from now on. Voila, you have yourself a lovely new coat!

Last week was tough. I don’t quite know why, but definitely not helped by Tom being in London and Olive getting another tooth. I could not wait for Friday!

It started with a a pint in the Pub on Friday night whilst the girls played happily in the beer garden (with all the other kids of parents equally glad it’s the weekend!)

A trip to pick up a vintage hat and coat stand from Derbyshire followed by a trip to Kedleston Hall (we’re National Trust members) but the weather was rubbish so we headed to Derby to hit the charity shops (that were much more pricey than i’m used to!)

Tom took the girls swimming Sunday morning to give me a little break which was much needed and spent reading magazines (not cleaning as planned)

Sunday afternoon we went for a bike ride down to the park, we fed the ducks then head home as it started raining (I didn’t take my camera so pictures of the Monsal trail a couple of weeks ago)

Here’s a sneaky peek at some of things I’m working on in preparation for my next craft fair in 4 weeks time. I’m very excited to be doing another one!

]]>https://sewjolly.wordpress.com/2013/06/17/working-on/feed/0sewjollyimageimageImageRecipe: Instant Berry Icecreamhttps://sewjolly.wordpress.com/2013/04/18/recipe-instant-berry-icecream/
https://sewjolly.wordpress.com/2013/04/18/recipe-instant-berry-icecream/#respondThu, 18 Apr 2013 19:30:44 +0000http://sewjolly.wordpress.com/?p=1198Continue reading →]]>Ok, so this isn’t exactly Ice cream but it tastes almost as good and had Delilah completely fooled. I’m sure there are tons of recipes out there for similar types of stuff but this came out of a last minute attempt at making something healthy out of what’s left in the house. We go on holiday tomorrow so the fridge is bare! My last minuteness can often lead to food disasters (brussel sprout gratin anyone?) but this time it actually paid off and this was really yummy.

What better way to eat it but with your fingers?

Ingredients

1/2 tub of greek yoghurt (or natural)

1 pack of frozen berries

2 tbspn honey

Throw everything in the blender and blend until fairly smoothish. It’s that simple! You can can change the amounts of each or add stuff to it depending on what you have to hand. This made enough for a big portion each for me and the girls and another couple that I’ve thrown in a tub to keep in the freezer. I’ve got a feeling that this will become a bit of a staple during the summer months. I really want to try it with frozen banana next…mmmmm.

As you can imagine with 2 small babies that love to splash, not ideal! These leaky tiles have led to a huge ugly yellow stain on our dining room ceiling and our bodge job repair didn’t last 24 hours! Until budgets allow we are using a shower curtain to cover the offenders. Sigh.

The long 4 day weekend is always one of my favourites. We enjoyed lots of time relaxing, eating good food- mainly chocolate obviously! Visiting people we love, Easter egg hunting at Sudbury Hall, doing a little DIY (I started this chair months ago!)

I’m really feeling the need to do a lot of stuff to the house at the moment and we couldn’t be more skint so I’m trying to think of things I can do that we’ve already got the materials for but will make a big difference. One of the things we fell in love with when we bought the house was it has wooden floors throughout- all 3 floors, 2 of which are completely original! I love them but I can’t help but feel that everything’s a bit brown at the moment. Probably not helped by the weather! I NEED to inject some colour.

This morning I ripped up the stairs carpet. I’m not entirely sure what to do with them yet, we can’t afford carpet but we have lots of paint so I’ve been pinning a few ideas.

Now, me and the girls are all full of cold so we’re enjoying watching Dr Doolittle the 60’s version, love it! I so want to travel in a giant sea snail or fly on a giant lunar moth!